89 evinrude E150STLCEM 150hp no spark

[Mike82]

I am having issues with the ignition system with this motor. I have the Selco manual for the motor and I am trying to follow the steps to check the ignition system components. I was wondering if you guys might help shed some light on what the manual is actually asking.

Test No 2. Sensor coil Resistance
Test No 4. Charge Coil Resistance

The manual is not real clear on how to check these 2 coils. I checked the Key switch by cutting the D pin on the 2 4 pin connectors to see if I had spark after that and I did not I am about positive that is what it was asking.

Any help would be awsome, i just replaced the head and exhaust gaskets put it all back together and it fired right up. Then the other day went to use it and was not hitting on all pistons. Started pulling plugs and started to notice no spark on one then after playing with it started to get spark. Now seems like I am not getting spark on anything.

 

[DJ]

Re: 89 evinrude E150STLCEM 150hp no spark

A lot of times the issue can be found in the BIG RED plug. You may have moved that around when you were working on the heads, etc.

You can also unplug the BIG Red plug and jump the starter. The engine should run. You will have to choke off the fuel or air supply to shut it off though.

 

[emdsapmgr]

Re: 89 evinrude E150STLCEM 150hp no spark

The factory manuals have excellent ignition troubleshooting information. I'd be working from one of those instead of a Seloc. Do DJ's test first-that will eliminate the control box and harness from the system. If still no spark, you can do some further testing: The stator and timer base can be tested for voltage output while cranking. They are reliable tests, but require a special "peak-reading" voltmeter. The required voltage output on that stator is 200 volts and the timer base is 0.2 volts when cranking at 200-250 rpm.

 

[Mike82]

Re: 89 evinrude E150STLCEM 150hp no spark

I will try the big red plug tonight, i actually went through all the connectors and cleaned them up when I started having problems. They must use some sort of paste in the connectors when they put them together, becasue they were all full of it. I cleaned them out with contact cleaner and a cue tip. I have a fluke with a max setting on it which should work for your other tests that was recommended. Do you guys know what pins I need to check for voltage for the stator and timebase?

 

[Mike82]

Re: 89 evinrude E150STLCEM 150hp no spark

I tried the red plug tonight and it worked I now have spark again but still have the original problem with it firing once and stopping. I then re-seated the red plug and now my key works again, must have just not seated good the last time I had it apart. I also checked the compression and on the right side I have 105 105 101 and on the left side I have 102 102 100 top to bottom. I was told 10 percent tolerance by someone but the book says 5lb difference is max. Was wondering what you guys think I should try next I never did get it started. I probably could but would be really hard on the starter to keep trying that long I would think.

 

[jonesg]

Re: 89 evinrude E150STLCEM 150hp no spark

I was told 10 percent tolerance by someone but the book says 5lb difference is max. .

Yeh but thats the seloc book, its not the service manual, its a farce. As Tash liked to say "give that seloc to someone you don't like".

Get the correct factory service manual either from searayman on ebay or marinengine.com
Your compression is very good and near perfect, I'll swap your numbers for mine and mine runs good.

In the meantime you can follow the information on master tech Bill Kelly's site, its accurate.
http://www.maxrules.com/trouble.html

Manual,
http://www.marineengine.com/parts/johnson-evinrude-manuals.php?Year=1989&HP=150&Model=150STLCEM

 

[Mike82]

Re: 89 evinrude E150STLCEM 150hp no spark

I will definatly get a new book for the motor considering the one i have is like you guys are saying not very good. I forgot to add in the last post when I jumped directly to the starter i got a few back fires from the motor i figured I just had to much gas in there. Then after I plugged the red plug back in and it worked I got another back fire afer leaving it sit for a hour. I thought I would add this becuase there might be a reason for this that I am not seeing.

 

[dwco5051]

Re: 89 evinrude E150STLCEM 150hp no spark

I have a fluke with a max setting on it which should work for your other tests that was recommended. Do you guys know what pins I need to check for voltage for the stator and timebase?

You can get an adapter for your Fluke meter for about 25 bucks to read peak voltage to your ignition coils. That and a 9 dollar spark tester from NAPA will go a long way towards troubleshooting ignition problems. Check that the grounds on your ignition coils are clean and tight where the coils fasten to the block.

 

[emdsapmgr]

Re: 89 evinrude E150STLCEM 150hp no spark

Your compression reading are just fine. It is not unusual for there to be a difference in readings from one head to another, due to manufacturing variances at the factory. It's common to have 5 lb compression differences between heads on a brand new engine. Your compression is very even between all three cyls on each head.

 

[Mike82]

Re: 89 evinrude E150STLCEM 150hp no spark

Didnt get any time on the boat yesterday needed to get out and fish. I was gonna ask my fluke has a peak voltage setting on it that records the peak voltage it reads. The only thing is will it be fast enough to register it. Any ideas, i guess it should not hurt it to try.

 

[Mike82]

Re: 89 evinrude E150STLCEM 150hp no spark

Picked up a spark tester today and found out why the engine sounds like it only fires on one piston then dies, becasue it is. Only spark I get is from the lower left piston. I switched the power pack lead to a different coil and it followed and vise versa with one that was not working. Any words of wisdom you guys might have in a situation like this?

 

[levi_tsk]

Re: 89 evinrude E150STLCEM 150hp no spark

if you changed only the power pack wires around and the spark followed that plug around then the
power pack(s) is bad and will need to be replaced

 

[Mike82]

Re: 89 evinrude E150STLCEM 150hp no spark

A little update I actually had the power pack replaced last year so if it went bad already I got to beleive there is another component that it taking it out. After I posted last I went out and performed the key switch test per Bill Kellys website test which I will add is totally differant than Senco's book. But when I did it I had spark where I did not before then I just plugged the adapter back together and checked each all of them again to check if it was the test I was doing or it just started doing it by iteself. I found I had good spark on 5 of the 6. So I tried to start it and it fired right up but you could tell it was missing that piston.

I also did the rectifier test by disconnecting the 2 yellow wire going from the stator to the rectifier and tried it again. This time is sounded like it was firing on all 6. I should add the rectifier has a crack on the top of it not sure how it got there.

At this point I am not sure what to point at what does the rectifier actually do considering it runs just fine without it?

Edit
I was reading on some other posts that if the rectifer goes bad in a outboard the tach does not work. Which mine recently stopped working i am starting to think they are tied together. The only thing is I dont understand how a bad rectifier would effect my spark.

 

[dwco5051]

Re: 89 evinrude E150STLCEM 150hp no spark

Replaced a bad rectifier on a 1990 GT175 a year or so that was running like crap with ignition problems. Ran great after changing it. Have heard that a bad rectifier can cause overheating of the stator which can cause a breakdown of other ignition parts. Don't know for sure if that was the problem but the motor has ran perfect since the regulator was changed.

 

[Mike82]

Re: 89 evinrude E150STLCEM 150hp no spark

Power Pack

cyl 1 166 ohms Orange/Blue to Blue (in male 4 pin connector)
cyl 2 136 ohms Orange/Blue to Blue (in Female 4 pin connector)
cyl 3 110 ohms Orange to Purple (in male 4 pin connector)
cyl 4 158 ohms Orange to Purple (in female 4 pin connector)
cyl 5 145 ohms Orange/Green to Green (in male 4 pin connector)
cyl 6 135 ohms Orange/Green to Green (in female 4 pin connector)

The above readings according to the guide should be 110Ohms but also says should be a comparison reading and typical range is 90 to 150 Ohms.

note: The guide says the male 4 pin connector should have the White wire and the female 4 pin connector should have the Black/White but they are opposite. Keep in mind this is a new power pack from last year.

Brown, Brown/Yellow to Ground: Starts high meg ohm then goes Open
Brown/White, Brown/Black to Ground: Starts high meg Ohm then goes Open
Orange, Orange/Black to Groiund: 9.95KOhms this one I am concerned about should be Open or high Meg Ohm

All three reading above should be high Meg Ohms or Open

Note: The above 3 readings were taken by jumping the 2 wires together and reading them to ground. Please correct me if I am wrong but to me thats how it read.

White to ground: .3 ohms shorted Should be Open

Stator

933 Ohms Brown to Brown/Yellow Should be 900 to 1100 Ohms
932 Ohms Brown/White to Brown Black Should be 900 to 1100 Ohms
95 Ohms Orange to Orange/Black Should be 93 to 103 Ohms

Time Base

(4 pin male connector with white wire)
White to Purple 284 KOhms
White to Blue 7.5 MegOhms Second Time 2.8 to 3.3 MegOhms jumps around
White to Green 271 KOhms

(4 pin female connector with Black/White wire)
White to Purple Jumps around from 20 to 25 MegOhms Second Time13 to 16 MegOhms
White to Blue 314 KOhms
White to Green 6 MegOhms a little jumpy

Note: The White to Blue in male connector and White to Purple in female connector give me different reading each time I take them the 3rd time was also different for the 1st or 2nd.

All six reading above should be a comparison test bewteen them and should fall in a typical range of 1M to 5M Ohms. It also says temperature will effect the reading these reading were taken on a cold engine about 60 degrees outside. I checked them again after running it and they are all different again.

White to Black/White 6.5MegOhms a little jumpy Should be 215 to 225 Ohms

I took all 7 reading above from the White wire on the male 4 pin connector that is how it read to me but correct me if I am wrong please.

After testing the motor fired right up without the annoying sparking on only one piston. Yesterday when it ran piston 3 did not spark today it was piston 1 the other day was piston 2. Also noticed the tach was working right away when it started then stopped a few minutes into running. I also just did a J. Reeves Tach test which indicates the tach itself is faulty.

After doing these tests I am not sure what to point at time base or power pack is it possiable that if the time base was bad could it take out the power pack?

Also does anyone know how to test the rectifier?

 

[Mike82]

Re: 89 evinrude E150STLCEM 150hp no spark

Sorry for such a long post guys I just wanted to post everything I found testing. Just hopeing for someone that might be able to make sure I did all the test accurate if so the next step is buying some new parts.

 

[Mike82]

Re: 89 evinrude E150STLCEM 150hp no spark

A little update i have been playing around with the motor today and found a few things. Once the motor is started it will fire right up again once I shut it off if I try again within a couple hours. Also starting it always starts with no spark then usually once piston then if I keep at it ill get it to start. I ordered a DVA tester and a actual service manual for this motor so hopefully next week I will be able to do more tests.

My question is with this ignition system does that make sense that after I crank on it for a couple minutes it starts to get spark?

 

[emdsapmgr]

Re: 89 evinrude E150STLCEM 150hp no spark

Usually, it's the reverse. Weak ignition components tend to work when cold, then fail when the engine reaches normal operating temps. The rectifier is for charging the battery and running the tach. If the tach quits working, usually it is a bad rectifier or in your case, the rectifier/regulator. The charging coils in the stator are considered separate from the stator ignition coils.

 

[Mike82]

Re: 89 evinrude E150STLCEM 150hp no spark

I went removed the yellow wires going to the rectfier the other day which seemed to help the starting and ideling. But last night i took it on the lake and started fine idled fine but when i advanced the throttle it started missing on cylinders sounded like they were going in and out. Any ideas?

 

[levi_tsk]

Re: 89 evinrude E150STLCEM 150hp no spark

did you still have the rectifier off?